Comments Off on An urban farm and restaurant flourishes in Utrechts circular pavilion

A new restaurant celebrating sustainability has opened in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Designed by Dutch architecture firm cezeped , The Green House is a “circular” pavilion that houses a restaurant, urban farm and meeting center. Created as part of an initiative by Strukton Ballast Nedam and Albron, the experimental and temporary venue follows eco-friendly principles and features modular components so that it can be dismantled and moved to a new location in the future. The Green House was born from a larger project that saw cepezed transform the former Knoopkazerne barracks on Croeselaan into a modern government office. Next to the office building was a vacant space that wouldn’t see development for the next 15 years; the developers asked the architects to create a temporary design that could reactivate that leftover lot. With the project’s relatively short lifespan in mind, the architects crafted a design based on the “principles of circularity ” to ensure that the building could be rebuilt elsewhere in 15 years. Related: Sustainable ‘circular economy’ principles inform Amsterdam’s flexible Circl pavilion Modularity and reusability are at the heart of The Green House, a two-story pavilion with a removable steel frame. “The dimensions are derived from those of the smoke glass facade panels of the former Knoopkazerne; these have been re-used for the second skin and the greenhouse of the pavilion,” the architects explained. “The circularity of the building also lies in the choice of the right floor in the right place. Street clinkers from an old quay in Tiel replace the classic ground floor that has been poured. They are located on a compacted sand bed with underfloor heating.” Related: Vertical Gardening 101 The first floor was constructed from prefabricated and recyclable timber elements, while the roof is sheathed in a lightweight and perforated steel sheet filled with insulation and topped with solar panels. The glass curtain wall lets in plenty of natural light so that artificial lighting is minimized. The restaurant occupies the ground floor, while the meeting rooms and the 80-square-meter vertical farming greenhouse are located upstairs. Restaurant patrons can see glimpses of the greenhouse from below and also enjoy views of an indoor green wall. + cezeped Images by Lucas van der Wee/cepezed

New labeling will assist shoppers in buying food and drinks that aren’t packaged in plastic . Campaign group A Plastic Planet is behind what’s called the Plastic Free Trust Mark, adopted thus far by some supermarket chains and a tea company. The campaigners are hoping that the labeling will inspire more retailers to jump on the plastic-free bandwagon. The Plastic Free Trust Mark has been launched to support retailers which have made pledges to phase out plastic packaging. Early adopters are Tea brand @teapigs , Dutch supermarket chain @Ekoplaza and @IcelandFoods https://t.co/wmbTqQybMF — A Plastic Planet (@aplastic_planet) May 17, 2018 Sometimes it’s obvious that the food item you’re about to buy is wrapped in plastic — other times, not so much. For example, the discovery that most of the tea bags in Britain contained plastic shocked consumers. A Plastic Planet co-founder Sian Sutherland told The Guardian , “Our trust mark cuts through the confusion of symbols and labels and tells you just one thing — this packaging is plastic-free and therefore guilt-free.” The new Plastic Free Trust Mark could help shoppers discern whether or not there’s plastic in packaging with a quick glance. According to U.K.-based tea brand Teapigs , one of the early adopters of the new labels, there are several alternative materials to use in accredited packaging: glass, metal, wood pulp, compostable biomaterials and carton board. Sutherland said she hopes the move helps slash plastic waste , saying, “Finally shoppers can be part of the solution, not the problem.” Related: First plastic-free supermarket aisle opens in Amsterdam Along with Teapigs, U.K. grocery store chain Iceland is adopting the label and plans to roll it out this month on some of their own label products. They’ve already set a goal to remove plastic packaging from their label products by 2023 . Iceland managing director Richard Walker told the Guardian, “With the grocery retail sector accounting for more than 40 percent of plastic packaging in the U.K., it’s high time that Britain’s supermarkets came together to take a lead on this issue.” Netherlands-based grocery store chain Ekoplaza is also introducing the label in 74 outlets. Earlier this year, the company launched the world’s first plastic-free supermarket aisle at an Amsterdam location. + A Plastic Planet Via The Guardian Images via Depositphotos

Interdisciplinary design studio DoepelStrijkers designed the interiors of the Circl pavilion, a sustainably minded space founded on the principles of the circular and inclusive economy. Located on the lower floors of Dutch banking group ABN AMRO’s headquarters in Amsterdam, the Circl pavilion emphasizes reusability throughout, from material choice to spatial design. Thanks to multifunctional and movable furnishings, the interior can be adapted for a variety of functions including a day care, performance venue, meetings, indoor market, exhibitions, or film screenings. Open to the public, the Circl pavilion can be tailored for different uses with the rearrangement of its movable walls that are remotely operated with the push of a button. The movable partitions are built of recycled aluminum and expanded metal mesh layered with recycled denim jeans for acoustic insulation. Similar examples of reuse and recycling can be seen throughout the interior. The textile plaster on the basement walls for instance, were made with recycled ABN AMRO business clothing. Select furnishings were sourced from ABN AMRO’s storage, while others were built from recycled materials and are 100% recyclable. Related: World’s first circular-economy business park mimics nature to achieve sustainability “The challenge for us as an office lies in translating our sustainable ambition into objects and spaces that transcend the traditional image of sustainable design,” wrote DoepelStrijkers. “We search for a spatial translation of sustainability criteria into an image that does not directly refer to reuse for example, but rather by incorporating the positive attributes of sustainable building principles into objects, spaces and buildings that reflect our contemporary design idiom.” + DoepelStrijkers Via Dezeen Images by Peter Tijhuis

Comments Off on This prefab floating house in Amsterdam was inspired by Japanese tatami rooms

If you’re strolling through Amsterdam and notice a houseboat with a design that doesn’t match the surrounding architecture, you’ve probably found this prefab floating house with an interior inspired by Japanese design. Architect Julius Taminiau drew inspiration from tatami rooms to create a home for himself and his family, and he introduced various space-saving features to make it comfortable and practical. The floating house was constructed in the town of Hardenberg, over 62 miles (100 kilometers) away. It was then sailed over the IJsselmeer to its final destination. “I was looking for a place where we could build a family house with a relatively small budget,” said Taminiau. “This was very difficult as housing prices are increasing very abruptly in Amsterdam, so this houseboat was a perfect match.” Related: Rusting 1950s cargo ship transformed into a stunning modern floating home Taminiau utilized a tatami grid in order to standardize the design and reduce waste. The external cladding also references tatami mats and has a reflective finish that lets it discreetly reflect the water. The house has two levels, with the lower one located partly below the water line. This level houses the master bedroom with en-suite bathroom and two smaller bedrooms. The main living areas occupy the upper floor, where the occupants can enjoy views of the surroundings. A double-height space near the main entrance functions as an office space, but can easily be converted into a guest bedroom. An open staircase leads to the rooftop deck , which is partly outfitted with solar panels. + Julius Taminiau Architects Via Dezeen

Comments Off on Check out this Amsterdam house created with trash and items from eBay

Garbage doesn’t need to simply be garbage; it can be used to build new things. At least, that’s what Frank Alsema has done. Profiled by Gizmodo, Alsema is a retired TV producer in the Netherlands who’s been fashioning his home out of garbage and other items he discovered on eBay. He calls the house Palais Récup, or Palace Recover, and he’s turned it into a laboratory for sustainable living. Alsema began his project in 2013, gathering materials he thought were beautiful and then asking an architect, John Zondag , to design a home around them. Over the years, Palais Récup has become a testing ground for urban green living. Alsema not only employs recycled materials to construct the house, but also works to reuse energy , food scraps, and rainwater . (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = ‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.12’; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’)); Posted by Palais Récup on Monday, May 15, 2017 Related: Colorful People’s Pavilion in Eindhoven is made from 100% borrowed materials According to Gizmodo, Alsema estimates around 60 percent of the items in Palais Récup are from eBay, including a 19th-century cupboard. A large spiral staircase originally came from a secondhand car shop. Zondag’s website says the house also contains slate from a church roof, a curtain wall comprised of natural stone via a bankrupt estate, and antique interior doors. Solar panels , a central heating pellet stove, green roofs , a heat sink, and “very high insulation values” are also among the home’s features. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = ‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.12’; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’)); Posted by Palais Récup on Thursday, February 2, 2017 Palais Récup is a work in progress: some rooms have yet to be finished. But this project is just one of Alsema’s and the nearby community’s efforts to foster circular living. Alsema is helping to create a complex of houses on a lot close by for people who aim to live sustainably. About a mile away, another community of people resides in an old shipyard, attempting to clean polluted soil in the area with plants. Alsema believes that “as we want to change the world…we have to do something, and we have to do it quick…And for that we need a lot of citizens who are going to hack the system, play with the system…If I can do it in Amsterdam North, you can do it. And we can do it together. And we need this system change to create a circular city and create a better world.” + Palais Récup Via Gizmodo Image via Palais Récup Facebook

Comments Off on Researchers discover a completely new ocean zone swimming with new species

After six years of researching the uncharted depths of coral reefs in the Caribbean Sea, scientists have discovered an entirely new ocean zone called the rariphotic zone. This column of water sits 130 to 490 feet below the sea surface, where it is too dark for photosynthesis, but above the dark fathoms of the aphotic zone . Even though photosynthetic reef building isn’t happening here, the newly-designated zone is anything but barren – read on for a first glimpse at the life below. Scientists found 4,436 individual fish around Curacao Island over 80 dives – and so far they’ve named 30 new species and identified six new genera of rariphotic specialists. There will be plenty more to come, as a fifth of the fish that the researchers saw have never been identified before. The research indicates that life can exist in depths far lower than we ever thought before. Related: Scientists discover a 600-mile-long coral reef in the most unlikely place “Reef ecosystems just below the mesophotic are globally underexplored, and the conventional view based on the few studies that mention them was that mesophotic ecosystems transition directly into those of the deep sea,” said Carole Baldwin , lead researcher and director of the Smithsonian’s Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP). “Our study reveals a previously unrecognized zone comprising reef vs. deep-sea fishes that links mesophotic and deep-sea ecosystems.” The research was published this week in the journal Nature . + Nature Via IFLScience Images via Nature

Comments Off on Blackened timber cottage with solar replaces a decayed brick home

An old and decayed brick house north of Amsterdam has transformed into a modern solar-powered dwelling that stands out from its neighbors, while respecting the local vernacular. Dutch firm Chris Collaris Architects completed the renovated home, cladding the facade and asymmetric gabled roof entirely with blackened pinewood to achieve a minimalist look. Passive solar principles guided the redesign, called House MM, which features black solar panels, high-density insulation, recycled materials, double-sealed windows, and an emphasis on natural lighting. House MM offers a rather limited floor area of 60 square meters, but the redesign of the interior gives it a much more spacious feeling than its brick predecessor. Tall ceilings, white walls, and an abundance of natural light create the illusion of space. Materials salvaged from the old house punctuate the interior, like the repurposed roof tiles and timber flooring seen in the garden and the brick walls found throughout the new home. Related: Rusting 1950s cargo ship transformed into a stunning modern floating home Despite its two-story appearance, the home includes three floors thanks to the addition of a mezzanine . “The roof lines were bound to restricted heights. By cantilevering the lower parts outside the main building volume, the upper level of the house increases,” wrote the architects. “A house with a high ceiling on every floor level and an extra attic is the result of this design feature. The extra win is a dry walk along the North facade while walking underneath the cantilevering roof part towards the entrance.” + Chris Collaris Architects Via ArchDaily Images by Tim van de Velde

Comments Off on Rusting 1950s cargo ship transformed into a stunning modern floating home

Yacht construction and house building fabulously come together in this conversion project that turned a 1957 cargo ship into a modern floating home in Amsterdam. Dutch studio ANA architecten redesigned the structure for a client who wanted to live on the water and enjoy expansive views of Amsterdam’s canals without giving up the comforts of a traditional home. The architects shortened the ship to fit the water plot and made sure that the interior has enough space to house a modern home. Unlike most ship and barge conversions, this transformation eliminated the linear system of spaces and offers several sight lines that run the entire length of the ship and across different floors. One of the most important elements is the terrace that sits in the middle of the double-height space. Windows in the wheelhouse, portoles and the patio that leads onto the terrace provide ample natural light. Related: Coal barge in London converted into a sophisticated floating home The master bedroom functions as an independent living space and includes a pantry, bathroom, toilet and a sitting area. The kitchen sits at the core of the ship and provides a direct connection to the main living area. The wheelhouse acts as an alternative living room, which fits the overall concept of creating several seating areas throughout the interior. Related: Experimental floating office takes over a converted WWII barge The architects replaced the existing aluminum and single-glass windows with handmade mahogany frames and double glazing. An air-water heat pump extracts heat from the air and heats the ship through low-temperature floor heating. Photovoltaic panels can be installed on the roof in order to make the structure more energy-efficient. + ANA architecten

For years, Amsterdam’s paddling pools have been disappearing as kids abandon them and maintenance costs rise. In order to save them, architecture firm Carve created this futuristic, pebble-shaped object for the famous Oosterpark paddling pool. The structure is dotted with climbing holes and equipped with integrated sprayers for summer fun that helps make the park a kid-magnet once again. Famous Dutch architect Aldo van Eyck designed more than 700 public play zones in Amsterdam in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, including the one in Oosterpark. For decades these additions to the city parks have functioned as a favorite hangout for kids. Over the last few decades, some of these play zones have disappeared. By 2010, only 90 remained, including the paddling pool in the Oosterpark. In 2012, the municipality commissioned architecture firm Carve to design an addition to the existing pool. Related: World’s First 3D-Printed House is Being Built In Amsterdam The project is part of a wider initiative to revitalize the entire Oosterpark area. The designers kept as much as possible of the existing structure and designed an addition that complements the original design. A large object with climbing holes and integrated sprayers, new seating edges made from natural stone , and play-programmed LED lights were added to the pool area. + Carve Photos by Jasper van der Schaaf